Sunday Favorites: 'Florida Man' was Always a Thing

'Florida Man' is a fictitious character derived from a plethora of news articles featuring kooky headlines. The 'Florida Man' caricature based on the state's most infamous residents has evolved from newspaper briefs to literature, and event the big screen inspiring satirical content from writers like Carl Hiaasen and embodying main characters on TV series like The Good Place. While these stereotypes may be offensive to some, there is some truth to the tall tales. Florida has always been a haven for misfits and outcasts, here are some of the craziest historical 'Florida Man' stories I've come across in my 12 years of research while writing this column.

Holata Micco, also known as Billy Bowlegs, loved to sneak up on white homesteaders in primitive areas and scare the crap out of them. He was known to make peaceful visits to the people of Manatee. Records indicate that he was welcomed into the homes of the Gateses, the Wyatts, and others. On more than one occasion, he would seem to emerge from the bushes, jump-scare homeowners, and then laugh and invite himself to dinner. Mary Wyatt Whittaker was surprised by Bowlegs and his men one day as a girl. She rowed him across the Manatee River and he complimented her skills.

Sarasota was considered a very dangerous place to live and law enforcement couldn’t keep up with the crime there.

If you think Sarasota is making headlines for its involvement in national politics today, you should’ve seen it in 1884, when a band of vigilantes stalked and killed the postman Charles Abbe. A group of about five or six men who didn’t take kindly to northern ”carpetbaggers“ settling the land and ”stealing“ the jobs of locals, decided to punish residents that ”the law couldn’t touch“, according to historian Jeff LaHurd in his book ”Hidden History of Sarasota.“

They formed a secret society and met regularly plotting to target northern residents who were planning to develop the land. Their plan included terrorizing the Abbe family for months before finally attacking Charles one day at the beach where they shot him, slit his throat, and loaded his body on a boat they then shoved out to sea.

The crime made national news and was featured in a New York Times article ”An Assassination Society: The Bloody Work of a Southern Band of Murderers.“ Three of the men were charged and convicted at a courthouse in Pine Level. While the judge sentenced them to death by hanging, the ruling was never carried out. At the time, Sarasota was still part of Manatee County and a single sheriff had jurisdiction over the entire area. The prisoners were able to escape from the unsecure jail cell and flee.

The event ultimately led to the first telephone being installed in the State of Florida, a gift for Mrs. Abbe from her son-in-law so she could always be in direct contact with her daughter.

In 1921, Harry L. Higel, one of Sarasota’s most prominent citizens, was brutally murdered on Siesta Key – the homicide is still a mystery.

Higel was a real estate developer that had served three terms as mayor and seven terms as a city councilman. But before he could finish his latest business venture – a luxury development on Siesta Key, the influential resident was found in a pool of blood in the middle of Beach Road on January 6. He was beaten so badly, he was unrecognizable. His head was split open on the right side and his face was badly bludgeoned. Despite lying face down in a pool of blood, he was still breathing. He was rushed to the doctor immediately after being discovered, but the doctor did not have the instruments needed to treat him so he was transported to Braidentown via car. He died during the long journey.

At the time, Harry had been feuding with a man named Rube Allyn. Rube was arrested for the crime and incarcerated for 61 days but a grand jury found there was not sufficient evidence to ”warrant a true bill“. Thus, he was released on March 9. For his protection, Allyn was extradited elsewhere. Higel’s funeral was one of the largest ever known in Sarasota, with a crowd marching from city hall to Main Street, according to LaHurd.

Next week, we’ll explore more unbelievable Florida Man stories!